It must be understood that the new art of self-defence with a
walking-stick,
herewith introduced for the first time, differs essentially from
single-stick
or sword-play; for a man may be a champion in the use of sword or
single-stick
[EN2] and yet be quite unable to put a walking-stick
to any effective use as a weapon of defence. The simple and sufficient
reason to account for this is that both in single-stick and sword-play
a cut is always taken up by the hilt of the weapon, whereas if you
attempted
to guard a blow with a walking-stick -- which has no hilt -- in the
same
way as you would with a sword, the blow would slide down your stick
onto
your hand and disable you. Therefore, in order to make a stick a real
means
of self-defence, it has been necessary to devise a system by which one
can guard a blow in such a way as to cause it to slide away from the
hand
instead of toward it, and thus obviate the risk of being disarmed by
being
hit upon the fingers.

After some fifteen years of hard work, such a system has been
devised
by a Swiss professor of arms, M. Vigny. [EN3] It has
recently been assimilated by me into my system of self-defence called
"Bartitsu."

In the art of self-defence with a walking-stick, the stick is held
in
the hand with the thumb overlapping the fingers, and not, as in
single-stick
or sword-play, with the thumb resting on the blade. The stick is
therefore
manipulated with the wrist -- and not with the fingers as in sword-play
-- and the blows are given by swinging the body on the hips -- and not
merely by flips from the elbow. In this way blows can be made so
formidable
that with an ordinary malacca cane it is possible to sever a man's
jugular
vein through the collar of his overcoat.

No. 1. -- The Guard by Distance -- How to Avoid any Risk of being
Hit on the Fingers, Arm, or Body by Retiring out of the Hitting Range
of
your Adversary, but at the same time Keeping Him within the Hitting
Range
of your Own Stick.

The mode of defence I am about to describe I have called "The Guard
by Distance," to distinguish it from "Guards by Resistance." It will be
noticed that in this method of defence the man attacked does not
attempt
to guard a blow by raising his hands to stop it, but simply by changing
front from left to right foot -- in other words, by swinging round from
his original position, in which his left foot is advanced in front of
his
right, to a position in which his right foot is in front of his left.
By
so doing, he avoids being hit himself, with the certainty of being able
to hit his adversary.

When guarding by distance, you take up the position of rear-guard --
that is to say, you stand with left foot forward, slightly bent knees,
right arm held above the head, and left arm thrown well out in front of
you. I ought to state here that this is not a very easy attitude to
assume,
and that a certain amount of training in physical culture is necessary
before it can be adopted with ease; but when you have acquired the
requisite
suppleness of body it is a very safe and reliable position to take up.

You must be careful to maintain the same distance between yourself
and
your adversary, which you originally take up, by retiring (right foot
first)
as he advances, and advancing (left foot first) as he retires. Then
play
a waiting game, and entice your opponent to strike at your arm or head
by exposing one of the two, so that you are prepared to retire
instantly
upon the first sign of danger.

Your opponent, encouraged by the apparently exposed position of your
left arm, naturally strikes at it, but you, anticipating the attack,
withdraw
it very quickly, and swing it upwards behind you. This upward sweep of
the arm automatically causes you to swing your left foot well behind
your
right, and to draw in the lower part of your body out of your
opponent's
reach; at the same time it imparts the initial momentum to your right
arm,
and assists in bringing your stick down very quickly and heavily upon
your
adversary's head before he has time to recover his balance after
over-reaching
himself in trying to hit you.

No. 2. -- Another Way to Avoid being Hit by Retiring out of
Range
of your Adversary's Stick.

It is always most desirable to try to entice your adversary to deliver
a certain blow, and so place yourself at a great advantage by being
prepared
to guard it, and to deliver your counter-blow. To induce your opponent
to aim a blow at your head you take up the same position of rear-guard
as described in the last trick, but instead of exposing your arm so
much,
you push your head more forward, leaving it apparently quite unguarded.
Your assailant foolishly accepts the invitation, and you promptly draw
yourself out of danger by swinging your left foot behind your right.
This
movement gives an automatic counter-movement to the right side of your
trunk and helps you to swing in a very heavy right-handed blow across
his
wrist, which might thus easily be broken.

No. 3. -- Double-handed Stick-play -- Showing the Best Way to
Handle with Two Hands a Stick which is too Heavy to Manipulate Quickly
with One Hand, when Attacked by a Man Armed with a Light Stick.

In mastering the art of self-defence with a stick it is important to
learn how you may best wield your weapon with two hands, otherwise you
might be at a serious disadvantage when carrying a heavy stick which
you
could not use freely with one hand, if attacked by a man carrying a
lighter
cane with which he could make quick, one-handed play. Your assailant's
movements in this case would be so much quicker than yours that you
would
be at a very serious disadvantage with your heavier weapon.

The preparatory position for delivering a double-handed blow at your
adversary's head is a position of guard, in which you hold the stick
with
both hands horizontally above your head, with thumbs away from your
face
and hands at the ends of the stick. The beauty of this position lies in
the fact that your opponent does not know which end of the stick you
intend
to use to hit him with. We will suppose that you are holding the stick
with the heaviest end in your right hand, and that you propose to hit
him
with this end.

The blow is delivered thus -- you slide your right hand quietly off
the right-hand end of the stick, and bring it back again, holding the
stick
with the thumb on the side nearest your face. Then, using your left
hand
as a pivot, you slide your right hand up to your left with a circular
motion,
thus delivering a strong side blow at your adversary's face.

Should you wish to strike our opponent with the opposite end of the
stick -- the lighter end -- you would slip your left hand off the left
end of the stick, bring it back with the thumb on the side nearest your
face, and then slide your left hand towards your right, to impart a
circular
motion to the stick as before.

A person requires to be very supple in the shoulders to work a stick
gracefully and well with two hands.

No. 4. -- How to Defend Yourself, without Running any Risk of
being Hurt, if you are carrying only a Small Switch in your Hand, and
are
Threatened by a Man with a very Strong Stick.

Imagine that you are walking in a lonely part of the country,
carrying
a light switch or an umbrella, when suddenly a foot-pad bars your way,
carrying a stout stick, with which he threatens you.

It is obvious that under these conditions if you gave your assailant
time to assume the offensive, he would have no difficulty in breaking
down
any slight guard you might offer, and in felling you to the ground.
Knowing
this disadvantage, and without giving him time to realise it, you must
at once attack.

You should aim a vicious blow at your assailant's head, holding your
hand very high in order to force him to guard high. Simultaneously, you
should jump forward from the attacking position, shown in the second
photograph,
to the position shown in the third photograph, and strike him with the
open hand high up on the chest, pulling his foot away from beneath him
at the same time -- in order to disturb his balance, and destroy his
power
to hit you. You could now strike your adversary such a blow with your
fist
on the face as to render him unconscious, or, of course, you could
belabor
him with your stick if it were suitable for the purpose.

No. 5. -- Another Way to Defend Yourself when your Adversary
is
Armed with a Stout Stick, and you are Carrying only an Umbrella or an
Unreliable
Cane.

In case the student of the art of self-defence with a walking-stick
finds difficulty in mastering the preceding method of defense, here is
an alternative, equally effective, and, perhaps, somewhat safer for
beginners
to practise.

As before, appreciating the unreliability of your weapon, you assume
the offensive at once before your opponent has time to discover your
disadvantage.
You begin operations precisely as described in the last trick, by
striking
high at your assailant's head, and forcing him to guard
high.Simultaneously
you spring into the position shown in the third photograph, seizing
your
opponent just below the elbow, thereby completely disturbing his
balance,
and so preventing him from hitting you. You can now deliver a heavy
right-handed
blow with your fist upon his chin, or over his heart, which will render
him unconscious.

A nine-stone [126-pound] man who is active, and who timed this
movement
nicely, could completely upset the balance of a man twice his weight
and
bring him to the ground in a second. [Judoka Yukio Tani worked for
Barton-Wright,
and was quite capable of accomplishing this feat.]

In case you are carrying a stick which might be strong enough to
deliver
a heavy blow, another method of attack is as follows: After you have
disturbed
your assailant's balance by seizing him by the elbow, you retire
quickly,
by withdrawing your left foot well behind your right, and then, holding
your head and body well on one side out of possible danger, you deliver
a heavy blow with your stick across your assailant's kneecap is very
dangerous,
and would utterly incapacitate a man if well delivered. It is
advisable,
therefore, not to hit too hard when showing the trick to a friend.

No. 6. A very Safe Way to Disable a Boxer who Attempts to Rush
You when You are Armed with a Stick.

Imagine the case of a man armed with a serviceable stick being
attacked
by a skilled boxer. One of the safest and most reliable methods of
defence
against a boxer's fists is as follows: --

The man with the stick faces the boxer in the back-guard position --
that is to say, with his left foot and arm extended, and his right arm
guarding his head. His left arm is thus free to guard his face or body,
if, by any chance, he should fail to evade the blow.

As soon as the boxer opens his attack with a direct blow upon the
man
with the stick, the latter jumps with one movement to the former's
left,
bending well forward in a crouched position, so as to avoid any
possibility
of being hit. Then, turning half round on his left toe, and drawing his
right foot in a line with his left, he makes a low, back-handed sweep
with
his stick, and strikes the boxer across the knee, disabling him, and
bringing
him to the ground.

But for the sake of argument, we will suppose that in the excitement
of te engagement the blow missed the boxer's knee, and struck him on
his
shin, in which case he might still be able to show fight. Quickly
recovering
his balance, the boxer turns on his left toe by stepping to the right
with
his right foot, faces his opponent, and puts in another blow. But here,
again, the man with the stick anticipates the move, and bayonettes the
boxer in the heart before the blow can fall. As his stick gives him a
longer
reach than the boxer's, he runs no danger, and the strong, upward
thrust
with the stick should completely incapacitate his adversary.

I should like the reader to thoroughly understand that in every form
of self-defence the first and most essential thing is to have a
well-trained
eye. This trick is entirely dependent upon the quickness of the eye in
judging the right moment to jump on one side, so that the boxer does
not
become aware of the fact until he has struck at you and overreached
himself,
when it is too late for him to make good his disadvantage.

No. 7. -- A Safe Way for One Man to Disable Another when both
are Equally well Armed with Sticks.

Supposing that you are attacked by a man armed, like yourself, with
a stout stick, here is a very pretty way to disable him.

Standing in the position of front guard, right foot forward, knees
bent,
right arm extend, you invite an attack at your head by holding your
guard
rather low. Your opponent accepts the invitation, and leads off at your
head. You parry -- an easy matter, as you are prepared for this blow --
and simultaneously jumping well to your opponent's right, you crouch
down
and make a low, sweeping cut at his knees, which will bring him to the
ground.

If, however, by any chance this result is not achieved, because your
blow has fallen upon your opponent's shin instead of upon his knee, you
will still have the best of the situation. Finding that you have got
under
his guard, your adversary will draw back his right foot and prepare to
give you a back-handed cut across the face. You, however, foil this
attempt
by keeping too close to him to admit of this, and bayonette him with
the
point of your stick.

I specially recommend this, as well as the foregoing trick, to the
attention
of the reader, whether lady or gentleman, both being very easy and most
effective. The most difficult part of the trick is to learn how to make
your opponent lead off in the way you wish. But this becomes very
simple
with a little practice.

No. 8. -- One of the Safest Plans of Defence for a Tall Man to
Adopt, who has not much Confidence in his own. Quickness and Knowledge
of Stick-play, when Opposed to a Shorter and more Competent Opponent.

A tall, slow-moving man, attacked by a quick, short opponent, is at
an immense disadvantage, as the short man delivers his attacks at
lightning
speed in unexpected quarters, and so reduces any possible advantage the
other may hold in size and reach. Under the circumstances it would be
advisable
for the tall man to try to induce his opponent to deliver a blow for
which
he will be fully prepared.

This he will best do by taking up the rear-guard position, standing
with his left foot forward, left arm extended, and right arm above the
head, as previously described. He then throws his left arm forward as a
bait. In ninety-nine cases out of a hundred the bait will prove
irresistible.
No sooner, however, does the short man begin to move his stick, with
the
intention of bringing it across the tall man's arm, than the latter
must
jump within the former's guard, in order to break the force of his blow
as it falls, then seizing the other's stick, the tall man can belabor
this
opponent's head.

Of course, it is understood that if the tall man has only got a weak
stick or umbrella in his hand, which would only be of use in making the
necessary feint to get an opening, directly he obtained the advantage
shown
in photo No. 2, he would use his fist to strike his opponent in the
face
or over the heart in order to disable him.

No. 9. -- How to Defend Yourself with a Stick against the most
Dangerous Kick of an Expert Kicker.

The student of the art of self-defence with a walking-stick might
think
it hardly worth while to study any particular method of defending
himself
which might insure him against an attack by a savater, or foot-boxer.
You
might suppose that there would be no great difficulty in guarding a
high
kick, provided you carried a stout stick in your hand. Those who have
seen
savaters at work, however, and realise the extraordinary swiftness of
the
kicks which they plant on their opponents' bodies, will understand that
scientific kicking can only be guarded with certainty by a scientific
method
of defence.

Taking up a position of rear-guard, with left arm extended to ward
off
a possible kick at the small of the back, hip, or left side, you
describe
circular cuts in a left to right downward direction with your stick.
Your
opponent, standing well out of reach, prepares to do what in French
boxing,
or la savate, a called a "chassé" -- that is, from his
original
position, with his left foot and left arm extended, he places his right
foot behind his left so as to enable him to approach within kicking
distance
if the opportunity presents itself, and, at the same time, to keep his
body and head well out of danger. Then, seeing an opening, he places
his
right heel firmly on the ground and aims a kick with his foot at your
heart.

Anticipating the danger, you transfer the whole weight of your body
from your left to your right leg, which enables you at the critical
moment
to withdraw your foot very quickly -- to avoid a kick on the shin in
case
of a diversion in the attack -- and at the same time assists you to
draw
your body out of danger. You then bring your stick so heavily down on
your
adversary's ankle as to break it.

If you wish to defend yourself against kicks lower down on the body,
you employ exactly the same means of defence, but as it is not
necessary
to hold the arm so high in describing the circular cuts, it is very
much
easier to defend yourself. The objects of describing circular cuts, by
the way, as opposed to a direct cut, is that you are very apt, in the
latter
case, to miss the kicker's leg, whereas in the former case you cannot
fail,
not only to deliver your blow, but also to ward off and divert the
kick.

No. 10. One of the Best Ways of Knocking Down a Man in a
General
Scrimmage, when there is not Room to Swing a Stick Freely.

When a man finds it necessary to defend himself in a street fight,
or
the like, he may not have room to swing a stick freely. One of the best
methods of using a stick as a weapon under these circumstances is to
pass
it between the legs of the assailant, and, by pressing it sharply
against
the inside of one of his thighs, to cause him to lose his balance.

In order to carry out the trick effectively on a single assailant,
when
there is no crowd, you should stand in the front guard position, and
make
a cut at the side of your opponent's face. While he raises his hand to
guard his face, you seize his uplifted with your left hand, crouch down
and pass your stick through his legs, exerting sufficient leverage to
throw
him on his back.

Another method is to take up the back position guard, standing with
your left foot forward and your right arm above your head, which you
must
purposely expose in order to induce your opponent to strike at it. At
the
moment when he attempts to hit you on the head, you must slip under his
guard, and seize his right wrist. Now pass your stick between his legs,
and throw him upon his back.

To employ the same trick in a crowd it is only necessary to stoop,
cover
your face well with your arm and hand, and to keep diving with your
stick
between people's legs, upsetting them right and left.

{In our next issue we hope to give a further selection of these
remarkable
feats. -- Ed., P.M.]

Editor's Notes (hit yoru back button to
return
to the text)

EN1. Edward William Barton-Wright was born in India in 1860 and
educated
in Germany and France. While working as a mining engineer in Japan
during
the 1890s he trained in jujutsu and judo, and upon moving to London in
1899, he opened a self-defense academy at which he and his mostly
Japanese
instructors taught a system of self-defense that he called "Bartitsu."
The method was limned in several British magazines, and featured as
"Baritsu"
in Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Adventure of the Empty House."For further
details of Barton-Wright's life, see Graham Noble, "An Introduction to
W. Barton-Wright (1860-1951) and the Ecclectic [sic] Art of
Bartitsu,"
Journal
of Asian Martial Arts, 8:2 (1999), 50-61. For details of Sherlock
Holmes'
martial arts, see Richard Bowen, "Further Lessons in Baritsu,"
The Ritual-Review
of the Northern Musgraves Sherlock Holmes Society, 20 (1997), 20,
22-26.

EN2. The English single stick, said Richard Burton
in A New System of Sword Exercise for Infantry (London: William
Clowes and Sons, 1876), is "a cane or light cudgel with a basket-hilt
covering
the back of the hand, like the imperfect guard of the Highland
Clay-more;
it is straight, not curved, and as the rod has no edges, so in practice
every blow equally represents a cut."

EN3. According to Alfred Hutton, The Sword and
the Centuries (London: Grant Richards, 1901; New York: Barnes &
Noble, 1995), page 361: "Pierre Vigny, a professor from Switzerland, …
unites in himself the qualities of a champion player and of a careful,
judicious teacher of his art… Our time-honoured English singlestick is
not to be compared to it. In the first place, the player is not
hampered
with a buffalo or wicker hand-guard, a fact which of itself lends
variety
to the play, for the man can, and does, frisk his cane about from one
hand
to the other, so that his opponent can never precisely tell which hand
will deliver the attack, and careful practice of the various lessons
will
shortly make the student pretty nearly ambidextrous. One of the first
things
to understand in such play as this is to preserve the hand which holds
the weapon, a thing which an occasional tap on the knuckles impresses
on
one's memory." Vigny's method was la lutte Parisian, and
combined
armed and unarmed techniques from savate, chausson, la canne, la baton,
la baionnette, and English boxing.